The boy who sought his fortune
by Gigi the Dancer
Summary: A story I based on my boyfriend. I wrote it for a class but decided that it didn't sound original enough. Please read and review


The fairy tale I based on my boy friend, Luke

Once Upon a time...

in a land of sun and snow, with the sun shining brightly over swathes of land, illuminating the blank fields of snow.

There was a certain family of wealth whose eldest son wished to travel. He was uncertain of his future, as most all of us are and so he prepared to set out into the wide world to seek his fortune.

He had a second hand white horse, 30 silver coins in his pocket and some leftovers but that was enough for he was skilled and handsome a happy young man who could deal well with adversity.

As he traveled through the wilds of the city, the slush and the muck coating his horse, he felt free and yet lonely. It was everything that he dreamed of as he battled traffic to get to the main high road. And yet it was lonely even here in the crowds of people.

As he made his way along he stopped for a soda at a snack shack on the highway to accompany his lunch. There the old woman selling random trinkets and beads offered to make him a bargain. As he explained he didn't have any money to buy pretty shiny things for some girl he didn't have, the bony old woman winked at him and said "If you give me your dumplings I will give you this charm that will get you the girl whom you seek."

He shrugged. "Okay" he said. He didn't seek any girl but she was nice enough and looked half starved. It must be a hard existence to be a trinket seller so he handed the wrinkled old woman the dumplings that were neatly tucked on a bed of lettuce in a box.

And she handed him a sparkling dangling key chain. It was in the shape of a heart. And made out of little red crystals.

Thanks" he said as he walked back to where his white horse was standing. He looked back as he wheeled his horse around to see the old woman with dumplings in both of her hands happily stuffing them in her mouth.

He tucked the key chain in his knapsack. As he traveled onward and made friends in high and low places, doing kindly deeds to old folks and helping people who looked like they needed it, he met a knight.

This knight was looking for a squire and asked the youth to be it. The boy weighed his options as he slept on the knight's couch, in the knight's royal issued apartments. He enjoyed the food that the knight had eaten with him, he knew he could do knightly things well, it was all a matter of training. 

And that was the problem. How long would it take and could he support himself while on his way to becoming a knight?

And so the young man in the morning had made the decision to become the squire to the Knight.

The Knight was a happy man, who enjoyed teaching the boy how to duel and handle swords, bait dragons, and rescue fair damsels, which was a requirement of the job. And so the boy one evening a few years later, contemplated the quest ahead of him. This would be the test in which he would be given his spurs on his return. He was to become a knight if he succeeded and if he failed, if he was still alive, he would have to serve the Knight another year.

And so the boy, a man now, polished his armor vigorously and sharpened his sword and spear. He carefully packed his provisions and while he was tucking extra blankets in his knapsack for it was winter again he came across the small charm he had first been given on his initial journey.

Tucking the small heart in the midst of the blankets and packing them in his knapsack, he made sure he had everything and went to bed.

He set out the next morning after serving the knight his breakfast and receiving his blessing and wishes for a speedy return and fair weather.

He baited the dragon as he was taught ever so very carefully, dragging a slice of roasted lamb on the path to the dragon's cave. There he placed the smoking and charred bones of the lamb which he had bought in the market that afternoon.

The Dragon, an old one, a sneaky old worm who had defeated and eaten many knights noticed the smell of roast lamb right away. As that was his favorite food he followed the smell to his own doorstep. Hoping that some random passerby were sleeping off the roasted meat in his cavern he quietly, slinked into the cave. He saw dark figures that looked like humans and smelled like them and quickly snapped them up in his jaws.

But he felt sick for they didn't taste of human meat but like rocks. He had eaten large rocks that were covered in human clothing. He let out a large roar and smoke whistled out of his nostrils when he stopped dead in his tracks about the cavern.

His stomach had split open due to the weight of the boulders which had been laced with metals making them heavier than usual. The dragon's stomach sack now split open causing him great pain and as his insides sloshed around him, they started to extinguish his inner fire and quite quickly the dragon died.

The young knight leapt out of his hiding place just outside the entrance of the cavern and with a lot of push and pull he pushed the dragon's body outside of the cavern. And as he searched through the treasure of something useful, while skidding across the floor of gold coins he found a maiden sleeping on a pile of gold. She was beautiful with long dark locks of hair and beautiful pink lips. She was dressed in an overly large dress, which caused her white shoulders to peak out.

He blushed as he had never seen the shoulders of a woman before, let alone a beautiful one. Cautiously and slowly he approached the maiden. He wondered what he would do with a maiden?

Sure he had helped rescued damsels in distress before but never himself. And the maidens they had rescued before all had places to be returned to. He hadn't heard of a damsel in distress, owned by this particular dragon. Calling her loudly he asked her to wake up. She stirred slightly, mumbling something and went back to sleep. He crouched down and grabbing her soft white shoulders he shook her until she woke up. It took a while but her eyelids fluttered and she woke up.

Staring at him with her golden green eyes she she gave a small shriek. "Who are you?" she asked sleepily.

He smiled and told her that he had slain the that if she was a captive she was now free. At which she collapsed upon him, gripping his chain mail shirt in tiny fists, crying.

"Oh thank You! I never thought I was going to be free. The Dragon threatened to eat me if I didn't cook his meals and count his treasures."

And the after a loud sobbing fit the young maiden consented to go with the young squire out into the world. And they gathered as much treasure as they could carry and they went back to the Knight who then had the young man knighted. The young man then after bringing the maiden back to her family, started calling upon her and they married. Soon after he had promised the girl his own heart with the beautiful key chain, he heard of his family again in the newspaper and decided to visit them.

Gathering the best shiny things of the dragon treasure he and his wife visited the family in which he had proved them all right and had secured himself a wonderful adventurous life full of happiness and wealth.

His family was overwhelmed with happiness and burnt many a roast fussing over him but the knight and his wife didn't mind as they had grown accustomed to charred meat.

He made his fortune in the world through hard work and cunning that is how everyone should be able to defeat the dragons in their own life and rescue the maiden.

With love

jennifer


End file.
